Beschreibung:

Brian Jones/The Rolling Stones An important hand-written nine-page letter from Brian Jones to the girl who became the first Rolling Stones' fan club secretary, giving background details to the group prior to their first record release , written by Jones on behalf of The Rolling Stones, from 102, Edith Grove, London S.W.10 , April 5th, 1963, in blue ink on blue notepaper, the letter thanking Doreen [whose secretarial name became Diane Nelson] for her interest in the band - revealing a hint of the group's vulnerability at this nascent stage in their careers, Jones' wrote: ...It's very gratifying that you should be so willing to help us to the extent you are doing so... - Jones gives brief biographies of the individual band members: Keith Richards - Guitar - 19...Went to Art School, then straight to Rhythm 'n Blues; Mick Jagger - Vocal, Harmonica, 19...London School of Economics..; Charlie Watts, 21... now full-time musician. (Drummer)..; Ian Stewart - Piano, 23 ..works with I.C.I. as a Shipping Clerk...; Bill Wyman - Bass, 23 [actually he was 27] ..works during the days as a storekeeper or something equally horrible....only member of band married - only one who'll ever be married...; Myself, Brian Jones - Guitar and Harmonica, 21...was studying architecture - more artistic satisfaction from R&B.. - Jones continues the letter with details of the band's Formation & History , describing the group as an amalgamation of two bands, Jones' year old R&B group and Richards' and Jagger's group from S.E.London, suggesting that the impetus to merge the two groups came from Richards and Jones, ...I was introduced to Keith & we decided to pool our resources, so with Stu from my band, and Mick from Keith's we became the nucleus of the "Stones".. - On the third page [numbered 2] Jones' gives a fascinating detailed list of all the jobs The Stones had done to date in the London region, from The Marquee, Oxford Street; to their first residency at The Ealing Club, Ealing Broadway, where they were joined initially by Charlie Watts and later by Wyman, Jones states that by the time of this letter they had played in most parts of London and were already aware of their burgeoning popularity: We are finding our style of Rhythm 'n Blues is more readily acceptable than most others in the country at the moment..every Sunday evening we play the Station Hotel, Richmond - which has been described as one of the most hip sessions in London.... Jones later confides that the acoustics, atmosphere and conditions at their regular spot in Richmond mean that they play better there than anywhere else, and that around the London region in Windsor, Golders Green, Sutton, Sidcup etc. ..We have ..a habit of breaking attendance records... - Discussing the band's recording career to date, Jones mentions that they have an agreement with an independent recording company, I.B.C. through which they have cut a number of tracks, there is a sense of frustration that they are unaware at this stage how close they are to their first release [June 7th, 1963] ...We have already cut quite a few sides, all...commercial..We ourselves do not know how negotiations for release are progressing at the moment... - In answering a question raised by Doreen regarding the proportion of Blues material in their sets, Jones gives an insight into the forethought the group put into their performances, describing how they temper the kind of music they play to suit the audience: ...blues are not easy to put over to the average club audience. They prefer something more in the twisting, jumping line... - Jones analyses the Stones' sound by comparing it to a form of jazz, where unusually the emphasis is on the complete picture rather than sections of it: ...Your point about people listening to the sound overall rather than the singer was quite correct....Unlike most forms of jazz the accent in R&B should not be on soloists but on an overall integrated group sound - hence the absence of strings of solos...